PAGE C6 – MAY 2008 – The Ottawa Construction News
EcoCité on the Canal Will Demonstrate a
New Wave of Green Living
EcoCité on the Canal as seen from Bank @ Wilton
STAFF WRITER – The Ottawa Construction News
A little creativity in the The new six-storey, 25
construction industry can go unit condo development was
a long way. With that in designed by Christopher
mind, EcoCité Develop- Simmonds, of Christopher
ments is capitalizing on an Simmonds Architect inc.,
increased desire for green and includes a commercial
and sustainable building and space on the ground floor,
living, and taking it to the courtyard and roof top gar-
next step. dens, 19 underground park-
“As a developer, we are ing spaces, and some
a little bit different than surface parking.
most,” said Christopher Simmonds, who is
Sweetnam-Holmes, a part- known for his work on the
ner with EcoCité Develop- Rideau Valley Conservation
ments, the company behind Authority building in Ot-
a a new project in Ottawa’s tawa’s South End, was a
Glebe neighbourhood. “Our very good fit for the new de-
goal is to always be pushing velopment. Sweetnam- chitect to work with to bring hydronically. It was also their dependence on the au- vegetables during the sum-
the limits of what is possible Holmes explained that our vision to reality,” he very important that as many tomobile with a membership mer months.
in terms of market-based Simmonds brought interest said. “He was able to seam- of the units as possible had to Virtucar, which is in- This holistic approach to-
sustainable development. ing ideas and views to the lessly incorporate numerous green spaces, and he man- cluded with their purchase. development is also appar-
We see ourselves as a project. green features onto the small aged to integrate roof-top VirtuCar, a car-sharing ent in the finishes inside the
benchmark of where other “We found Christopher infill site. We have geother- and ground level gardens for service whereby members building. In order to build a
builders and developers can Simmonds here in Ottawa mal heating and cooling, most of the units.” have pay-as-you-go access green building capable of
move to.” and he has been a great ar and all the floors are heated Once complete, the to a network of vehicles achieving LEED points, the-
building is expected to be around Ottawa, will park material palette of the build-
certified as a LEED Gold one of their hybrid vehicles ing must include materials
building, and will be very on the site for easy access of that are not only more sus-
close to achieving LEED the residents. It is just an- tainable, but those that are
Platinum. The many inter- other effort by EcoCité De- also healthier for the resi-
esting eco- features to the velopments to encourage dents.
building’s design and con- green living. Wood is ecologically
struction are one of the rea- “This is something we sourced; all finishes are low-
sons for the high rating, but see in a lot of bigger cities - VOC (Volatile Organic
EcoCité Developments also to have these shared ameni- Compounds)or all-natural
looks beyond construction ties,” Sweetnam-Holmes ex- vegetable oil based, and ad-
in terms of encouraging sus- plained. “A lot of it is giving hesives are low-VOC, the
tainable living. people more value and least toxic available. And
In fact, because trans- adding things that really that is just in the kitchen.
portation plays an important make their lives better.” This The homes also include
role in an individual’s eco- is why EcoCité Develop- dual-flush toilets, and low-
logical footprint, the resi- ments is also working to
dents of EcoCité on the arrange for weekly deliver
––––––––––––––––––––––
Back yard gardens
-
Canal will be able to reduce ies of farm fresh organic
Continued on page C7
Congratulations to EcoCite Developments and Taplen Construction
Inc. We are pleased to be working with your team.
QUALITY HVAC SERVICES
SPECIAL CONTRACTS DIVISION
Same Quality and Commitment on a Smaller Scale
5710 Akins Rd., Stittsville, Ont. K2S 1B8
Tel: (613) 838-5762 Fax: (613) 838-4105
www.gorlan.com
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